Weird relatives

Chapter 12: Ares

The group was sound asleep on the train. Except Danny, who was waiting for this exact moment. He carefully took Ellie off his shoulder and put her head on the place he was just sitting on. Phantom walked to the bathroom and shut the door behind him. It was a very stinky place, which is surprising, because they are usually horribly smelly. Phantom took out a list of paper and a pen he 'borrowed' from conductor. He put the list on the wall, to have anything to lean on. After writing the letter with his straight lines, Danny put it inside the envelope and closed it, before scribing an address.

Fright Knight

Infinite Realms

Quadrant 5

Royal Castle

Fright Knight's chambers

LORD PHANTOM

When he finished writing, Danny raised his hand with the letter and it disappeared in green flame. He finally went to sleep.

The next afternoon, June 14, seven days before the solstice, their train rolled into Denver. They hadn't eaten since the night before in the dining car, somewhere in Kansas. They hadn't taken a shower since Half-Blood Hill, and that sure was obvious.

"Let's try to contact Chiron," Annabeth said. "I want to tell him about your talk with the river spirit."

"We can't use phones, right?" Percy asked.

"I'm not talking about phones."

They wandered through downtown for about half an hour. The air was dry and hot, which felt weird after the humidity of St. Louis. Everywhere they turned, the Rocky Mountains seemed to be staring at them, like a tidal wave about to crash into the city.

Finally they found an empty do-it-yourself car wash. They veered toward the stall farthest from the street, and Danny said Ellie to look out for police cars. They were four adolescent teenagers and six years old hanging out at a car wash without a car; any cop worth his doughnuts would figure they were up to no good.

"What exactly are we doing?" Percy asked, as Grover took out the spray gun.

"It's seventy-five cents," he grumbled. "I've only got two quarters left. Annabeth?"

"Don't look at me," she said. "The dining car wiped me out."

"I have a quarter," Danny tossed Grover a quarter, which he caught with his palms.

"Excellent," Grover said. "We could do it with a spray bottle, of course, but the connection isn't as good, and my arm gets tired of pumping."

"What are you talking about?" Percy asked.

He fed in the quarters and set the knob to FINE MIST. "I-M'ing."

"Instant messaging?"

"Iris-messaging," Annabeth corrected. "The rainbow goddess Iris carries messages for the gods. If you know how to ask, and she's not too busy, she'll do the same for half-bloods."

"You summon the goddess with a spray gun?"

Grover pointed the nozzle in the air and water hissed out in a thick white mist. "Unless you know an easier way to make a rainbow."

"How about imaginaaation," Danny longed the last word, slowly moving his hands in a half circle.

Soon enough, late afternoon light filtered through the vapor and broke into colors.